I went into this game expecting to be underwhelmed; I haven't really thought much of other Rockstar games I've played before from a singleplayer perspective, and the insane hype around this game had me skeptical. By the time I was finished with the game, I still had my gripes with parts of it, but I nevertheless walked away having experienced one of the finest stories ever told in a video game, with characters that I will cherish forever. Truly, this game has earned it's reputation, and while it will never be a perfect 10 for me due to some specific parts of the game, as well as the Rockstar formula just not being the most appealing to me, the strength of the narrative makes this a must-play for anybody, full stop.
On the gameplay front, your mileage may vary. The game is relatively accessible, with no real need to engage with a lot of the systems in order to progress, though things like upgrading weapons, hunting, and crafting will nevertheless help you out. The shooting is simple, but effective. Character movement and traversal is undeniably clunky, with a cover system that fails to work half the time, and movement that is deliberately slow for immersion purposes rather than gameplay. That tradeoff of immersion over gameplay depth really is the main point for most of the gameplay quirks here; while the sheer volume of hunting, skinning, fishing, crafting, and customization available is daunting to the point of tedium, it is all presented in the guise of creating an immersive world that makes you truly have to live through it rather than merely play through it. That commitment to immersion extends to the entire game, from dialog to healing to traversal on horseback to the wanted system. This game is likely one of the most immersive games ever built, and while that can sometimes lead to frustration or tedium, if you truly become immersed in the world and learn to take your time through it, it can be an amazing experience.
The immersion of the world and the gameplay systems all serve one thing however, and it is the singular reason why RDR2 stands above so many other games before it, and that is the characters and the story. It's hard to convey a lot of what makes this game great without spoiling too much, but nothing illustrates what is amazing about this game more than your player character Arthur Morgan, one of the best characters in a video game ever created. You grow with Arthur, experience the world with Arthur, and stay with him through the toughest of times, and by the end he feels like a lifelong friend that you simply want to experience the world with. The other members of the gang are also wonderfully realized, each feeling like a real person with how they interact with you, how they have opinions on things that occur, and how they each have their own fears, desires, and motivations. That commitment to immersion extends to the character interactions, and you will find yourself wanting to come back to camp just to talk with these people. The story of the game is also compelling throughout, serving as one of the finest stories of the Western genre ever told, and one that managed to make me truly understand what made the Western so appealing to so many. It's not all perfect though, with one chapter in particular feeling a bit superfluous, and the epilogue dragging itself out a bit too long, and while those moments can dampen the experience somewhat, they do not invalidate the rest of the journey, and that journey is one that I will carry with me for a very long time.
RDR2 is a game that achieves many great things, but one fact that I couldn't shake was that is was a game that tries so hard to achieve a specific vision of narrative storytelling, of immersive world design, yet it must also cater to a demographic that has come to expect Rockstar games to be bursting at the seam with content, with complete player freedom, with an endless sandbox. That clash of the audience expectations and the developer's goals is what can make this game frustrating to some, and part of what holds it back in the end for me. This game is arguably more of a Western simulator than a pure action-adventure game, and that clash of worlds leads to much frustration with many parts of it. Nevertheless, the experience of playing through this story, of interacting with these characters, and of seeing the journey of Arthur Morgan, truly stands out as one of gaming's finest achievements, and for that, Read Dead Redemption 2 deserves the hype and reputation it garners.
On the gameplay front, your mileage may vary. The game is relatively accessible, with no real need to engage with a lot of the systems in order to progress, though things like upgrading weapons, hunting, and crafting will nevertheless help you out. The shooting is simple, but effective. Character movement and traversal is undeniably clunky, with a cover system that fails to work half the time, and movement that is deliberately slow for immersion purposes rather than gameplay. That tradeoff of immersion over gameplay depth really is the main point for most of the gameplay quirks here; while the sheer volume of hunting, skinning, fishing, crafting, and customization available is daunting to the point of tedium, it is all presented in the guise of creating an immersive world that makes you truly have to live through it rather than merely play through it. That commitment to immersion extends to the entire game, from dialog to healing to traversal on horseback to the wanted system. This game is likely one of the most immersive games ever built, and while that can sometimes lead to frustration or tedium, if you truly become immersed in the world and learn to take your time through it, it can be an amazing experience.
The immersion of the world and the gameplay systems all serve one thing however, and it is the singular reason why RDR2 stands above so many other games before it, and that is the characters and the story. It's hard to convey a lot of what makes this game great without spoiling too much, but nothing illustrates what is amazing about this game more than your player character Arthur Morgan, one of the best characters in a video game ever created. You grow with Arthur, experience the world with Arthur, and stay with him through the toughest of times, and by the end he feels like a lifelong friend that you simply want to experience the world with. The other members of the gang are also wonderfully realized, each feeling like a real person with how they interact with you, how they have opinions on things that occur, and how they each have their own fears, desires, and motivations. That commitment to immersion extends to the character interactions, and you will find yourself wanting to come back to camp just to talk with these people. The story of the game is also compelling throughout, serving as one of the finest stories of the Western genre ever told, and one that managed to make me truly understand what made the Western so appealing to so many. It's not all perfect though, with one chapter in particular feeling a bit superfluous, and the epilogue dragging itself out a bit too long, and while those moments can dampen the experience somewhat, they do not invalidate the rest of the journey, and that journey is one that I will carry with me for a very long time.
RDR2 is a game that achieves many great things, but one fact that I couldn't shake was that is was a game that tries so hard to achieve a specific vision of narrative storytelling, of immersive world design, yet it must also cater to a demographic that has come to expect Rockstar games to be bursting at the seam with content, with complete player freedom, with an endless sandbox. That clash of the audience expectations and the developer's goals is what can make this game frustrating to some, and part of what holds it back in the end for me. This game is arguably more of a Western simulator than a pure action-adventure game, and that clash of worlds leads to much frustration with many parts of it. Nevertheless, the experience of playing through this story, of interacting with these characters, and of seeing the journey of Arthur Morgan, truly stands out as one of gaming's finest achievements, and for that, Read Dead Redemption 2 deserves the hype and reputation it garners.